Coat of arms of Finland - Free Vector CDR

Waisai, 999-logo.blogspot.com - The coat of arms of Finland is a crowned lion on a red field, the right foreleg replaced with an armoured hand brandishing a sword, trampling on a sabre with the hindpaws. The coat of arms was originally created around the year 1580.

The lion in Nordic heraldry

Theheraldic lionis quite common inWestern Europe, and several European countries incorporate it into their national coats of arms. InNordicheraldry, the lion is first found in thecoat of arms of Denmarkin the later part of the 12th century.

Starting in the 12th century, the territory of today's Finland was gradually incorporated into the Swedish kingdom, and this coincided with the period when coats of arms first came into use in northern Europe. The first known use of the lion in Sweden was on the royal seals of Erik Knutsson (died 1216) and Erik Eriksson (1216–50), who used two and three lions on their seal, respectively. The first king of the Folkunga family, Valdemar Birgersson (1239–1302), also used 3 lions on his seal (Figure 2).